Dear Krishnakant, I agree with you that mp3 players are extremely cheap and handy, and mp3 files are easily replicable compared to audio cassettes, (and for all I know, many DAISY compatible digifiles are in mp3 format).
As far as ease of rewinding and advancing the tape are concerned, that's largely subjective. I personally find tracking audio files on my cellphone not just tedious but well nigh impossible. The cues are almost all visual. Dedicated DAISY players don't come cheap -- the Buddy assistive media player from Bisquare <http://buddy.bisquare.com/>, India (marketed by Saksham Trust?) costs Rs.4500. Which reminds me, why do audio books cost so much, when they are so much cheaper to replicate than paper books? And why are audio versions of Indian books virtually non-existent? In fact, why are audio-books of any sort practically impossible to buy in India? Pretty much no book-store carries them (I haven't tried Planet M, though), not even in Delhi. I just checked out Julian Barnes' "The Sense of an Ending" (shortlisted for the 2011 Booker Prize): the hardcover costs Rs.374, the audio version by BBC Audio costs Rs.952 (both after discount) on Flipkart. Considering that audio books are mostly used by visually handicapped people -- not the wealthiest demographic -- this is more than unfair. There are some audio books in the public domain -- you can source them at LibriVox, Project Gutenberg etc -- but this essentially means that the author has to be dead for 50 years. Assuming that the author didn't kill himself shortly after writing the book, we are looking at books that are 80 or 90 years old at the very least. Vickram writes, > I have not looked for audiocassette players that can handle digifiles, and > indeed it rather surprises me that pure analogue playback machines are still > being made. It would surprise me immensely if audio-cassette players could handle digifiles. (The original posting mentioned only audio cassettes). And why is it surprising that 'pure analogue playback machines are still being made'? Analogue audio has some very obvious -- and some equally obscure -- advantages compared to digital playback. OT, here's an obscure one<http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/07/21/cassettes-still-a-mu.html> . Sajan On 26 September 2011 12:46, Krishnakant Mane <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > Dear Sajan, > If not daisy we can at least have mp3 files made available which can be as > good as cassette tapes. > They are not just portable but ultra portable. > An mp3 player like the transend Tsonic are very very cheep, at times > cheeper than tape players. > Most blind people carry mobile phones where they can again play mp3. > Infact most mobiles now even play ogg. > Secondly it is also very difficult to learn from a tape because reading a > certain passage again and again needs precise rewinding and forwarding. > With the tapes it is not just inaccurate but also spoils the quality of the > tape and is tedious as well. > Happy hacking. > Krishnakant. > > > On 26/09/11 12:11, sajan venniyoor wrote: > > On 26 September 2011 11:55, Vickram Crishna <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > If audio cassettes were distributed, has there been any attempt to source > DAISY compatible digifiles, or to create relevant source material using > DAISY? Are the Trustees of Bangalore University aware that the GoI has > signed a global commitment to ensuring digital access for persons with > disabilities > > > There are actually some very sound (pun not intended) reasons for using > audio cassettes and not digifiles. For instance, you can switch your tape > between a cassette player at school or work, on the move and at home without > losing your place in the text. I am sure DAISY compatible digifiles can be > bookmarked, but I think it needs some fairly specialized hardware and/or > software. Cassette players are still very cheap and plentiful. > > Sajan > > > > > (by 2012, as I understand it, so as good as already in the dustbin), and > that this is not Somebody Else's Problem, it is a problem for all of us to > work to solve together? Simply showing up at IGF will not sort out issues > such as this (OT - and maybe nothing else either). > > Just fyi, contributors to WIkipedia have developed apps for visually > impaired persons to access (read and edit, and this is not trivial) in > Malayalam. Work is on to extend this to other languages - in fact, it may > already have been done for some other languages. Of course, browser access > is not the same as screen reading, and I am reasonably well aware of the > differences, but it is a big deal. > > On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 9:54 AM, Krittika <[email protected]> > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > ** > http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article2483818.ece > > Bangalore University reached out to 150 visually impaired students from 25 > of its affiliated colleges on Saturday by way of distributing free Braille > textbooks and audio cassettes to them. The beneficiaries appreciated the > move because all these years they had to depend on volunteers who would read > out the textbooks for them. Some of them would travel long distances to take > the help of non-governmental organisations which would format the reading > material using Braille for them. > > Besides distributing Braille textbooks, Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev > announced steps they would initiate to encourage more number of visually > impaired students to pursue their studies in the university. > > *The university will start a computer training and resource centre in > December. Under the project, computer training will be imparted free of cost > to the visually impaired students. JAWS Screen Reading software will be used > for the purpose. Once trained, students will be able to work on the Internet > and also use MS Office. * > > The other initiatives include establishing a help desk for the visually > impaired besides starting an electronic reading centre equipped with > text-reading machines, screen magnification software and video magnifying > units, and a Braille book production centre. . > > “In the next phase, we will have a career counselling and job placement > unit as well as distance education centre for the visually impaired,” > according to Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev. > > Mr. Prabhu Dev said that the soft copy of the Braille books were made > (mostly) by the Canara Bank Relief and Welfare Society (each page of the > master copy costs Rs. 25), while the hard copies were processed by the All > India Confederation of the Blind, New Delhi. > > Each textbook has been printed in two or three volumes. Bangalore > University funded the entire project. Students like Shilpa. S was both > delighted and relieved. Ms. Shilpa, a second-year B.Com student who scored > 74 per cent in her second semester, said Braille meant independence. “In my > first semester, I was in tears as I got my study material a week before my > exams. Thanks to my lecturer (Prasanna Udipikar, who is also the convenor of > Bangalore University's Braille Resource Centre), who recorded the material, > I managed to pass. ” > > Susheel Kumar, who is pursuing MA in Sociology, reiterated Ms. Shilpa's > views. “Life is much easier for us now as we will find the Braille books in > our library,” he said. > > -- > > -- > > *Krittika Vishwanath* > Research Associate > IT for Change > In special consultative status with the United Nations > ECOSOCwww.ITforChange.net > Skype id: krittika85 > Tel:+91-80-2665 4134, 2653 6890. Fax:+91-80-4146 1055 > Mobile: +91 9535321980 > > Read our Teacher's Communities of Learning project's blogs, lesson > plans and discussions here: http://bangalore.karnatakaeducation.org.in/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > network mailing list > [email protected]http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in > > -- > Vickram > Fool On The Hill <http://communicall.wordpress.com> > <http://communicall.wordpress.com> > > > > _______________________________________________ > network mailing > [email protected]http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in > > > _______________________________________________ > network mailing > [email protected]http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in > > >
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